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Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One (2018)
2018 | Sci-Fi
Lots of, "Hey, I know that!" moments (0 more)
Lots of, "Hey, I know that moments (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
"Ready Player One" is a good, almost great, popcorn flick. There are visual jokes throughout the film, references to every 80s pop culture item you can think of, and characters that are likeable.

The vast majority of the film is animated, which is obvious given the subject matter. The animation, however, doesn't allow the actors to deliver nuanced performances. Everything in the film is turned up to 11. There's no breaks, no subtle moments. It's full throttle, pedal to the metal, all the way through.

Now, there are some very cute character bits that are blown away by the bombast, not the least of which is the film's villain uses a Superman avatar in the Oasis, and I'm pretty sure it's the Injustice Superman, which is fitting. Yes, we've all seen the Iron Giant in the previews, as well as the cars in the race sequence.

The most surprising inclusion in the movie, the best filmed and the most impressive story-wise, is the sequence involving the retrieval of the second key. It's pitch perfect and the film should have done more like that and less Where's Waldo. Speaking of, I didn't see Waldo, but I'm sure he's in the film.

Spielberg did as Spielberg does when he wants to make enough money to finance another serious film. He made a popcorn flick. Ready Player One should please audiences and in a year without Marvel's juggernaut would have been the geek culture film of the season.

Instead, it's playing second fiddle to Black Panther, Infinity War, and, to me, Incredibles 2. Still, it's great fun and as long as you're part of geek culture, you'll enjoy it. And then tear it to pieces on the Internet because that's what we do.
  
Read my original review on my blog: https://bookmarkedreading.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/book-review-geekhood/

Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind is a greatly humorous, relatable book about the struggles of a 14-year-old Geek.

Archie, a true Geek to his core, has a lot going on in his life. His parents are divorced, his step-dad is a Tosser, the only thing his friends are good at is the Game, and, to top it all off, he is struck by surprise by a Close Encounter with a Beautiful Goth.

After Sarah tries to help him battle his problems and insecurities, Archie replaces his snarky interior monologue with the voice of his psychic self, trudging alone along the path to psychic alignment. But things don't go quite as he hopes, and he soon makes a serious mess of things. How has it all gone so wrong?!

When he no longer wants to be associated with the Geeks he once called friends, he starts to realise that maybe this isn't what he wants after all. After so long of trying to fit in and fly under the radar, it turns out that maybe doing what you love is enough to keep you truly happy.

Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind is a hilarious book, following Archie's combat with problems that are well-known among us teens. I love the script of the interior monologue, and I think a lot of people can appreciate Archie's attempts to mask his true feelings and use of his interior monologue to express himself without others hearing. Definitely a good book, which I enjoyed far more than I expected! A strong 4 stars from me.
  
The Castles of Burgundy
The Castles of Burgundy
2011 | Dice Game, Medieval, Territory Building
Highly Strategic (0 more)
Component quality isn't very good. (1 more)
More luck based than I would like
I give the game a 6, my wife gives it a 10, so we'll settle on a 7.
My wife adores this game, she's incredible at it, my parents love it... I'm the wet blanket. It's ranked very highly on board game geek, but yet i don't love this game myself. It's a cool concept with a very boring theme. I love the idea of owning a village in burgundy and placing castles and boat houses, but it doesn't really make me feel anything when I play, and I worry too much about the dice and how to make them actually work with what I need. This one isn't for me, but everyone else loves it so you shouldn't listen to me.